Burnout is an emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by extended and repeated stress. Google defines it as a feeling of a lack of energy or procrastination and delaying responsibilities, it can also cause a loss of efficiency. Burnout is more often than not due to a workplace setting causing a great amount of stress, it can affect anyone in any aspect of a person’s life, including parenting, romantic relationships, and students dealing with academic deadlines and or demands. Burnout is way more than just feeling tired, it includes a sense of depletion, detachment, and a loss of accomplishment feeling that can greatly impact daily functioning.
Students experience burnout mainly because of constant academic workloads, high expectations, and lack of control over their own schedules. This will lead to even more problems for the student, and according to WebMD, it may include exhaustion, loss of motivation, and a detachment from academic tasks. Burnout in students causes decreased concentration, low participation in class, and a drop in academic performance. It causes issues such as headaches, insomnia, and even depression, which makes their difficulties even worse and makes it harder to begin coping with academic challenges.
The impact of burnout on students is extremely damaging. It leads to reduced academic achievement, with a study done by crowncounseling showing that students with high burnout scores often have significantly lower GPAs. Burnout causes poor classroom engagement and, in severe cases, dropping out of school altogether. These setbacks can have long-lasting effects on students and everyday life, trajectories of a person’s schooling and future career. Beyond the effects it can have on an academic standpoint, burnout can hurt a student’s mental health, increasing anxiety, depression, and other emotions. These are very apparent while the person is making attempts at recovery even more challenging.
There are ways to treat burnout, but it may require a softer and more patient approach, and the main focus would be preventing it and intervening. One way is encouraging students to realize the symptoms of burnout and take steps such as setting goals, managing their time, getting better sleep, regular exercise, and nutrition. These steps will reduce a student’s workload and support a healthy academic setting. It may also create strong, supportive relationships with friends, family, and counselors to lessen the effects of burning out. Being mindful, relaxing, and professional counseling are also resources that can be beneficial for managing burnout.
Schools and educators have a responsibility to create environments that lessen the risk of burnout by giving a balanced workload and clear communication of assigned tasks and expectations. Some teachers may even implement changes such as flexible deadlines, feedback, and resources for mental health support. This may encourage students to do things outside of school and breaks that can help with depleted emotional levels. Schools can also offer workshops on stress management and time management skills, which help students burnout and improve overall well-being.